The Venezuelan Armed Forces Amid the Road to Civil War

The maniacal and naïve Donald J. Trump, who has proclaimed himself a “stable genius,” is preparing, along with various quarters within his regime, to destroy the legitimate government of Venezuela, and then to proceed to decimate the government of Bolivia, as they have a strategic road-map to retake South America through whatever political and military coups they can create. It was not lost on me that there were deeper reasons for Trump to order American troops out of Syria, as he now has manifested his designs on retaking South America as part of an overall strategy for regional hegemony. As the United States continues on its malignant course to social and economic implosion, Trump's self-styled "stable genius" becomes much more like unstable madness, more apparent by the days, weeks and months.

Despite strategic political maneuvers on the part of Nicolás Maduro, 53rd President of Venezuela, along with Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez, to become acquainted with the various military ministries of Russia, China and Cuba, there have been reasons for the Army of Venezuela to prepare for what they knew was coming from the North American enemy, the United States. There have been warnings. Now more than ever, there are reasons for the Venezuelan people, besides the leadership of their army, to respond to a recent attempted coup with a motley crew of national guardsmen and the self-proclaimed declaration by a sniffling boy with the name of Juan Guaido to swear himself in on Wednesday morning, January 23,, as the interim president of Venezuela.

As the international news agency teleSUR reported after U.S. President Donald Trump recognized the illegitimate president Guaido— the Venezuela’s Defense Minister, Vladimir Padrino Lopez declared Wednesday that "the National Bolivarian Armed Forces (FANB) refuses to accept the opposition leader Jorge Guaido as the interim president of the belragured Latin American country. “The Homeland’s soldiers don’t accept a president imposed by obscure interests or self-proclaimed unlawfully,” said Padrino Lopez via his Twitter account, adding that the armed forces will defend the Venezuelan constitution and national sovereignty.”[i] The Bolivian Revolution of Venezuela is in a precarious position as it is a populist movement and not a revolution of Marxist strategic outlook --and therefore vulnerable to deep attacks from sectors of the Venezuelan bourgeoisie and the petty-bourgeoisie along with certain sections of the workers who were not prepared enough for the intense economic changes that would be forthcoming in such a revolution, where the entire phalanx of class enemies have neither been routed nor been destroyed.

Similarly, what historically took place in Cuba was that the Castro forces seized by force the cities and countryside of Cuba, while defeating piecemeal the Cuban army under Batista. And so, the embattled Venezuelan government under the auspices of Maduro -- like the Syrian Government of Assad, have had to contend with various military forces attempting to overthrow his legitimate government -- are up against other political armed forces supported by agitated allied troops outside the country. These political armed forces will supply weapons, soldiers, and intelligence, to undermine the will of the Venezuelan people and the true army of Venezuela. The Trump regime will work diligently to overthrow Maduro's legitimate government. Two leaders from the same reactionary party will vie to eventually dominate the people of Venezuela.

As reported by The Guardian: “It was López who tapped Guaidó, 12 years his junior, to lead his Popular Will party’s coalition in the national assembly when its mandate began on 5 January. Guaidó had just finished his first full term as a legislator, having been elected in 2015. Though largely defined by his opposition to Maduro, Guaidó supports a market economy and granting fiscal autonomy to regional governments, in line with the party’s policies.”[ii] Such a tense situation will likely result in what I foresee as civil war ultimately becoming a harsh reality in Venezuela.

The beginning process to destroy the Bolivarian Democracy in Venezuela: totally dismembering the Venezuelan economy through sanctions. The Guardian continues: “The national security adviser, John Bolton, said $7bn of PDVSA assets would be immediately blocked as a result of the sanctions while the company would also lose an estimated $11bn in export proceeds over the coming year. “Now is the time to stand for democracy and prosperity in Venezuela,” he said, calling on “all responsible nations” to back Guaidó”[iii] And yet, Bolton conceded that “…US strategic interests were in play, including concerns about the presence and activities of US foes in the region. “We think stability and democracy in Venezuela are in the direct national interests of the United States right now,” Bolton told reporters. “The authoritarian regimes of Chávez and Maduro have allowed the penetration by adversaries of the United States, not least of which is Cuba.””[iv]

In December of 2018, Maduro met with Putin in Moscow. It is not for nothing that Russian bombers -- two Russian strategic bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons -- landed in Venezuela in a dramatic show of support for the government, which infuriated Washington. The TU-160 supersonic bombers, dubbed "White Swans" by Russian pilots, landed at Maiquetia Airport near Caracas.[v]

Will the “White Swans’ fly again over Venezuela? Although Maduro says there will no civil war in Venezuela, history may dictate otherwise, as ironically, Simon Bolivar himself knew that revolution and civil war can go hand in hand.